‘Rat’ in dosa: When a food complaint could set Tukaram Mundhe into motion – but turned into extortion

In a bizarre turn of events, a viral video of a rat spotted inside a dosa could have prompted Maharashtra food safety chief Tukaram Mundhe to raid the Borivali hotel. However, the incident took a darker twist and was later revealed to be an extortion attempt. The Borivali Police have arrested two sisters, Mansi Acharya and Kinjal, for allegedly threatening hotelier Jai Kishore Shah with a police case unless he paid them Rs 25 lakh for the viral video.

Initially, the sisters demanded Rs 25 lakh, which was later reduced to Rs 7 lakh, with Shah allegedly paying Rs 1 lakh in advance on September 30. On October 5, Shah agreed to meet the sisters and pay the remaining Rs 6 lakh. Upon receiving a complaint from Shah, the Borivali police arranged for the meeting to take place at the same hotel.

When the sisters arrived, they were served notices instead of being arrested. According to the police, on September 24, Acharya and two others visited the Radhakrishna Hotel-Banquet-Fast Food on L T Road, where she spotted a rat in her dosa. She allegedly created a scene, called the police, and recorded the incident. The video went viral on September 26, leading to the FDA suspending the hotel's license on September 28.

Shah claimed that Acharya threatened to file a police complaint and further spread the video unless he paid her money. He reported the incident to the Borivali police on September 29, alleging repeated WhatsApp threats from Acharya to demand the remaining Rs 6 lakh. Both sisters were booked under Section 308 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for extortion.